From How This Galaxy Turns
by LyricalJelly
Summary: Look, I kept an open mind to what my afterlife is like but being reincarnated as the galaxy's only hope against the Reapers (of all things) is far too much. I haven't even finished the game! -An SI OC fic. Rewritten
1. Prologue

She died.

It was an irrefutable fact. Unchangeable. Undeniable.

And unlike what most living humans thought, there are no pearly gates, not never-ending fire, no lost souls… there's just nothing. Nothing but the feel of herself and how... weightless everything is. She couldn't feel her arms, her legs, her body, and her heartbeat.

There's just her, her very core curled on herself. A small piece of awareness telling her she's dead and there's _nothing._

How?

 _She should've… could've._

She didn't know how long she was there, in the un-nameable place. It had tried to take off her memories, but she held onto them tighter, serving as her only comfort from the thoughts of _nothing_.

It's everything she has left. If she forgets and thinks of _nothing_ then she'll become nothing too.

Days? Weeks? Months? Years? Maybe it has already been centuries. But she still held on tight, for her memories are _herself_. Her very being. Time may be a river that corrodes rocks and dirt but she'll be _metal_ , intent on not losing herself.

She may not have had the perfect life, but it was hers and parts of it have been a treasure.

For an immeasurable amount of time she was a something in the nothing, drifting in and out of her half awareness. She didn't dream, but she could remember. She didn't feel, not 'physically' (for she was anything but that right now), but she was _aware._

There was a prod.

She stirred. A whole part of her being _moved_. There was a push, and then a rush.

She remembers a sensation like this. It was as if she was back, riding a motorcycle again and speeding through the wind. Her heart beating fast as she wonders how angry her sister would be when she realizes she sneaked off with her motorbike again the month after.

Except this time the speed was much faster and it stopped before she knew it.

She slammed into another something, and then everything just felt so _horrible_.

 _Ba-bump._

There it was. An all too familiar sensation she could pick out among the rest.

 _Ba-bump_

Her mind is spinning, ears were ringing, and she feels _everything_.

And then she finally realized it.

A heartbeat.

 _Ba-bump_

She's... alive again?


	2. Unlikely Savior

Jakir, with all of his wits and battle-shaped experience, never saw it coming.

It was a cashed-in favor. A debt he owed that he had sworn to repay. It wouldn't mean much to others, given that his kind had never been known for honorable and good deeds (an understatement if it would be heard by others), but Jakir has his pride and _promised._ Not as a batarian, but as who this unfair galaxy had shaped him into.

Hannah Shepard was a good human, as good as a soldier can get anyway, there is no one better than her that Jakir could owe to. He would do his best to uphold his promise.

Even if it meant coming to get her and her spawn in the middle of one of his species' raid _dammit._

Jakir had his communicator turned off, along with any other things that could transmit signal as an extra precaution. He was already waiting in the pick-up point, with a small stealth shuttle that could Cloak and wouldn't ping onto anyone's radar. It wouldn't be heard when it takes off or drops down, especially with all the screams and blasts that are happening.

He may play a lot nicer than anyone of his kind outside Hegemony, but he wasn't a saint or particularly suicidal enough to rescue any more humans than necessary.

The raiders a tad bit too organized and owned a few equipments that could only be seen inside the Hegemony. That, along with the fact that the ships orbiting the planet are far too many for simple raiders, had Jakir not doubting in guessing that either they were sponsored by the Hegemony (as revenge maybe for humans' continues colonization in the Skyllian Verge) or part of a larger ring.

Either way, Jakir would rather not get involved. He liked his place as a simple merc as it is already.

Guilt was gnawing at him, burning him slowly as he thought of how he should and _could_ change it. That as he stood there his people and others were suffering, have been and will be, until he takes action.

He swallowed it and pushed it aside. It doesn't matter who he was. Didn't matter what his lineage were or species. He was tossed aside and he had already done what he could.

He was just.. _Resigned? No. Angry? No. Afraid? N—_

Jakir checked the time. Five minutes past their predicted time frame. He had to move before somebody notices him and the shuttle.

He trudged on, scouting the perimeters for _any kinds of sign_.

And if he didn't know if he truly was walking on or walking away, then it's nobody's business.

* * *

[From How This Galaxy Turns]

* * *

He supposes he should have seen it coming the moment he noticed they were late at least.

There had been the sounds of scuffling, then several blasts. He was still ways away from the settlement, but uncomfortably far from the shuttle as he ran as soundlessly as he could.

And there, he found the pup.

She is without a doubt the female offspring of his associate from what he could remember of the picture he was sent. Her bright red hair was a dead giveaway already, just the same shade as her mother's. The pup was "stubbornly" standing, knees trembling as she still held a pistol onto her rapidly heaving chest.

She was a mess. Her forehead was red and bleeding, along with her nose and lip, a few other bruises and wounds also scattered about her body, (thankfully not life-threatening). Lying on the ground were two of his species either dead or unconscious.

Jakir had to hand it to Shepard, she raised a tenacious one. She had gotten this far and still managed to keep standing, albeit shakily. Not exactly the time though, as he had left the shuttle uncloaked and merely hidden somewhere behind some tall rocks. Cloaking it would waste too much fuel they have only limited amount of.

They have to be back quick.

"Shepard?" Jakir tried to confirm, holding both of his arms upwards in a gesture of peace. Jakir didn't need the confirmation, but he had to start a questioning _somehow._

Green eyes narrowed, hands already on the trigger of the gun quickly aimed at him. Her whole body is still shaking visibly, and now that he has taken a closer look, the pup may actually be in danger of losing too much blood.

 _Great._

"I'm not here to harm you. I'm Jakir. Associate of your mother." He tried again. The pup looks nowhere ready enough to shoot again. Her hands aren't gripping it tight enough.

There was a beat of silence before the girl lowered her gun, breaths still labored. She was swaying now. "Mom.. 's dead." she fainted.

Oh.

Well shit.

* * *

End of Chapter

* * *

 **An:** Aaaand that's all I got so far. A reincarnated Jane saved by a batarian during the invasion. I have no idea how it should actually work but I tried. This went through several versions before I said "fuck it, that's that."

And yeah. I'm definitely not dead :p


	3. Recollection

Jane

* * *

I remember a life before, _my_ life before.

I remember my name that wasn't Jane, a world that definitely didn't have technology as advanced as this, and a mother that wasn't Hannah.

Hannah..

 _(Ever gentle with me, movements determined and sure, she was the lighthouse in the storm.)_

My older sister from Before was the one who raised me, even then she was still more of a best friend rather than a maternal figure. My mother in this life, Hannah, was.. well, she felt most certainly like a mother. My infancy was the hardest time for both of us, I felt too weak to do anything and my mind too heavy to even think of anything harder than the need eat, sleep, and cry. I think I was close to death at some point.

It was plain horrible all around. She was miserable and I was even more miserable. It took me a year to control of my body functions to the point of my satisfaction (oh hey, that rhymed.) along with actual _coherent_ thoughts, not a blurry string that usually ends with the thought of food.

My mind would still glitch out sometimes, and that would lead to me staring off into space to let me organize my thoughts. It took another year for my jelly brain (it sure felt like it.) to finally realize that I wasn't on Earth anymore, and that I'm in the far future where space travel just made leaps and bounds of improvement. How that came to be, I'll make sure to research once I get my hands on the nearest accessible tablet (..or was it data pads?).

Though with the way Hannah was very meticulous with organizing and keeping non-baby things out of reach would prove to be one of the biggest challenges of my toddler-hood yet.

I'll get to you somehow, my sweet sweet answers.

The challenge that took the cake, however, was coming into terms with being so.. young ( _incapable, weak, defenseless_.) and how much I missed Before. God knows I grieved my little heart out for it in my infancy and even now it still hits me hard whenever I look back.

Hannah was my anchor. She kept me grounded and stayed with me without ever faltering and showing signs of giving up. That included waking up at shit o'clock in the morning just to feed my then ungrateful ass or hum her comforting lullabies until I grew tired of wailing.

The point is that, she was an amazing woman, period. In my suddenly small world as a small child, she was my _world._

Seeing her.. gone, was jarring at best. Unreal.

..She'll come back for me.

She said so.

(Will she?)

Until then I'll just be with a stranger who knows my mother.

(I'm too tired to even be suspicious enough. Tired. That's the only word I can describe myself right now. Tiredtiredtired—)

I felt something soft wrap draped around my back, a gruff and surprisingly soft voice speaking words I couldn't understand despite a universal translator chipped in me.

But his hands are warm, despite being foreign and _different_.

I helplessly reached out to the voice and found myself soon sleeping surrounded by that warmth.

The next few hours of my wakefulness felt like another blur. Memories so mixed up I couldn't make heads or tails with. It felt like a dream almost, like being submerged in water and never coming up.

The alien would ask me things I couldn't make out, brought me to places I could barely remember. Sometimes the alien is calm and understanding, then frustrated, then apologetic after.

 _I just wanted my universe back._

* * *

"-kir, why-… -go-...-girl?"

"-doesn't deserve-.."

* * *

.

Chapter End

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* * *

AN: Everytime I write something from this story I had to play Mass Effect OST cause nothing else could get me in the mood of writing for it.

I definitely need to work on my chapter length i know (shorter than chapter one I'm soorry T_T) . but agh my mind is just way too blocked.


	4. Chapter 3

.

* * *

Jakir

* * *

.

Aside from that little scene at their meeting, the child was as unresponsive as a dead varren. From shock, most likely. No pup would be able to take having both parents dead and having no one else to rely on. She hasn't cried nor eaten, just either sleeping or listlessly staring off into space.

It was.. concerning. No amount of talking would get her to respond and Jakir found himself reaching out to offer physical contact with the pup just because it felt as she was going to break any moment soon and it would be Jakir's fault. Pride, he tells himself, waste of fuel to come all the way for nothing. Jakir knew that look in someone's eyes. He sees it every time he looks at the mirror.

To see it on such a young face (humans are fragile. No hard skin, no extra eyes nor limbs. Young ones _awfully_ more.) was unnerving and had him wanting to stay as far as possible from the pup; it wasn't something he is capable of dealing with, probably not without damaging her mind elsewhere.

This shouldn't even be his business. Jakir's only responsibility was her _physical safety._ To retrieve the pup and Shepard and get them to another one of her contact from the Alliance (without revealing himself of course) but that plan immediately went to shit as soon as he found out that the mother is nothing but a meat bag now.

He checked just to be sure, carrying the unconscious pup (she was pretty light, not to mention disgustingly _squishy_ ), and there a few moments of walking the ex-Alliance lay, surrounded by equally (if not more) dead bodies of his kind. She went down fighting at least, something her daughter almost emulated.

Jakir knew where his mistakes lay; he should have just come for them.

 _(A whisper of maybes came and went)_

Now he has a probably brain dead pup (he hopes otherwise) and a storage drive that contained all her biological information and papers. That has, unfortunately, no relatives were listed.

Which narrows him to two choices; ending the pup's misery or find information about Shepard's known associates and leaving her with them.

Frankly, it was the former choice that Jakir was increasingly tempted to do, but would never. That was something only a low-life would do; to disgrace a life debt.

A small sob took Jakir's attention to the pup. There she lay on a small cot, looking disgustingly vulnerable while no doubt looking very uncomfortable, her blankets all bunched up on one side. He grimaced, before startling; he was already reaching out to fix her blankets without him realizing it.

It took another whimper form the pup before he made up his mind and spread the blankets evenly on her, tucking it comfortably, and another beat before he met her outstretched hand (Something he'll never openly admit to doing. He wasn't going soft on some squishy bug now. _)_

He tells himself it's not personal. It's just business and paying off a debt, but the thought trails off when he notices something;The hand was hot to the touch. A temperature too high even for his kind.

.

* * *

Jane

* * *

.

It was hot and cold

In my veins I feel it; a chill coursing and spreading very slowly, making me hyper aware of it's every movement inside me. I felt hot on the outside at the same time, each cell felt erratic and wild, like my body was trying to fight the coldness from spreading.

I hate it.

I didn't know how long I was stuck like that, of seeing _both of my lives_ playing out whenever I close my eyes, of lost and pain and _suffering,_ but somehow I found myself a bit out of that loop. Just enough to think.

Is this how I die?

I couldn't stomach that thought.

I didn't want to. I want to live.

 _I want to have a better life this time._

Repeating that thought like a lifeline, I did my best to remember a memory with her.

* * *

" _Jane I'm so proud! You called me Mama!" I can practically feel happiness radiating from her. It was almost mind scrambling for me to speak coherent words, the chip wired in me conflicting most languages I know (Modern human language has been mixed_ _ **so much.**_ _), but still I can claim myself pretty darn proud that I actually didn't speak words that would have been considered meaningless babbles._

 _She handed me my atrocious neon-colored stuffed doll (which I had lovingly named Leon), a chameleon that has by some miracle, survived my brutal chewing and other constant abuse such as throwing it to the nearest wall out of boredom._

 _It always,_ _ **always**_ _ends up right beside me whenever I wake up._

" _Now say Mommy!"_

 _Hell no._

* * *

Hannah… wouldn't want me like this. For her to die for nothing while I succumb to whatever this is.

She would want me to stay alive and continue to cherish it.

( _Was it bad to wish to be inside that house again? Trapped and yearning, but safe and happy._ _ **Warm**_ _most of all.)_

I wanna live.

"-y pup."

I looked up at the _alien_ , and for the first time I felt as if I was actually _seeing_ him (assumed a guy due to the voice until proven otherwise), remembering that he was the one who took care of me while I was in my self-deprecating limbo.

The thing is, that a bit more sobered up, I realized just how _different_ the stranger was from me. He is most definitely and undoubtedly so _foreign_ and _real_ that I couldn't believe my own eyes.

It also occurred to me, rather belatedly, that it is also the first time I've met anyone else that wasn't from Earth. (How could I? Trapped and sheltered inside Hannah's home as I was.) He had a teal colored skin, pointy ears, and two pairs of eyes that brings up the most important question.

Admittedly, the next move I'll isn't one of my best actions. You know, coming out of my funk while still having a massive headache, speaking to him for the first time and all but I can't simply help but wonder;

"Which… um-" I winced at my rough and scratchy voice.

"Which.. pair of eyes do I meet?"

Silence.

* * *

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End of Chapter

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* * *

 **AN:** There we go. About 900 -something words! I know, I couldn't believe it either. I wasn't sure if both POVs fit in the same chapter but left alone they're too short so there


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